I remember having a very active imagination as a child. Always creating SOMETHING. Imaginary worlds, playing pretend with dolls and barbies, coloring and drawing of course, and probably my favorite, cutting and gluing! And I remember how that felt. How grounded and connected I felt to the space around me, how peaceful and free in the space within. Sadly, through my developmental years and adulthood, even though I was always crafting something, I lost that sense of wonder and connection to myself. In the winter of 2021, when we were all trying to figure out who we were in the Time of Covid I took an online art class and was surprised to rediscover that deep connection I had with creativity. Really with knowing myself as a creative being.

I had been working as a Marriage and Family Therapist for 10 years, so my mind was keen to realize how much the process of doing art revealed parts of me that had been hidden. I started to introduce projects in session with clients and found creating to be a great tool in understanding how my clients perceived themselves in the world and how they approached challenges in their life. As they say in PFYS, how you do Art is how you do Life.

In my desire to grow personally as well as develop the skills to take clients to greater self-awareness, I enrolled in Paint from Your Soul to become a Facilitator. I am still in awe as each participant experiences the magic that happens as they allow this process to work within them and out on the canvas. And I mean Magic! It is always powerful, surprising, and healing. It emphasizes what I have known all along, we already have everything we need within us, we are our own healers. It is such a privilege to facilitate and witness this process of bringing what has been there all along out from within and onto the canvas—it’s like bringing people back to themselves.